Use of the #Tag symbol and #JeSuisCharlie Latest edition released in defiance of the terrorists

13/01/2015

Charlie Hebdo revealed their cover image for this week’s issue, printed just days after two gunmen opened fire on the newspaper’s Paris office, killing 12 people. Four of the Charlie’s cartoonists were killed in the attack.

The cover shows the Prophet Muhammad holding a “Je Suis Charlie” sign with the caption, “All is forgiven.”

The newspaper said that it will print over 1 million copies this week, with financial help from Google, Le Monde and other organizations. It usually prints around 60,000.

The viral power of the internet has put free speech and the fight against terrorism firmly on the map. Using the # tag sign gets a post to go viral very quickly. That’s a good thing to get a message across on social media and benefits everyone.

The downside is that it can encourage misinformation and rumours to spread very quickly, uncontrollably. For the events in Paris, the tag sign # was a force for good.

Amazing, though, how Je Suis Charlie was translated by almost all (including Time magazine) as “I am Charlie”. Here, it means “I follow Charlie” The verb is suivre not être. No harm done but you can see how going viral with an incorrect tag can sometimes lead to being misinformed.